Draw and cut out a set of paper eyes to attach on straws for making characters.

Paper Eyes

The Wetlands is a unique ecosystem covered or saturated with water for most of the year, and this biome includes marshes, swamps, and bogs. The slow-moving waters and nutrients abundant in wetlands support a unique ecosystem with birds, fish, reptiles, and insects specially adapted to these conditions. Wetlands are also important in regulating the water cycle, as they help to reduce the impact of floods and droughts by absorbing and releasing water over time.

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🇬🇧 Teacher Notes

Teacher Notes

Overview and Objectives

Materials

Preparation

The presence of water is what distinguishes wetlands from other types of ecosystems. Dry soil is not typical because it implies that the soil is not saturated with water for extended periods. As a result, wetlands tend to support a distinct suite of **hydrophyte** plant and amphibian species adapted to living in these wet conditions.

SDGs

NGSS

Florida - NGSSS

Imagine

Make the mouth

Build a body then connect mouth

Build the tail and legs

Slide legs on body then stand the alligator up

Add eyes and teeth for your alligator

Build

References and Extra Resources

STEAM Classroom

United States

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Goal 14

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

Goal 15

Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

3-LS4-3

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-1

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-2

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

3-5-ETS1-3

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

MS-ETS1-1

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

MS-ETS1-2

Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.

ISTE Students

1.6.c Creative Communicator

Recognize and explain that living things are found all over Earth, but each is only able to live in habitats that meet its basic needs.

SC.2.L.17.2

Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.

SC.4.L.17.4

Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycles variations, animal behaviors and physical characteristics.

SC.5.L.17.1

Describe characteristics (temperature and precipitation) of different climate zones as they relate to latitude, elevation, and proximity to bodies of water.

SC.5.E.7.6

Investigate and apply how the cycling of water between the atmosphere and hydrosphere has an effect on weather patterns and climate.

SC.6.E.7.2

Explain and illustrate the roles of and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web.

SC.7.L.17.1

Describe and investigate various limiting factors in the local ecosystem and their impact on native populations, including food, shelter, water, space, disease, parasitism, predation, and nesting sites.

SC.7.L.17.3

Describe how models and simulations can be used to solve real-world issues in science and engineering.

SC.35.CS-CS.1.2

Identify ways that technology can foster teamwork, and collaboration can support problem solving and innovation.

Intro: Wetlands Biome

Overview and Objectives

Lesson Structure